1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control apparatus for carrying out processing such as a process of issuing a request to a content transmission apparatus as a request for a content to be transmitted from the content transmission apparatus to the control apparatus and a process of reserving the transmission quality of a transmission line required for transmitting the content from the content transmission apparatus to a content request originator operating the control apparatus in a communication network allowing the quality of transmission to be reserved. The present invention also relates to a content transmission system employing the control and content transmission apparatus connected to each other by the communication network and relates to a content transmission method adopted by the content transmission system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a communication network such as the contemporary Internet, a user is allowed to select the quality of a content transmitted in a VOD (Video On Demand) service of the communication network whereas an accounting server is capable of carrying out an accounting process for the service. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2000-270309 discloses a technology capable of collecting a cost proper for the quality of a pay streaming content actually listened to by the user in a service to distribute the content through a communication network.
In addition, in the communication network such as the contemporary Internet, a user is allowed to make a band reservation contract and pay a cost for the reserved band. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-51486 discloses a technology capable of shortening a download time to any arbitrary value and setting the quality of an image being displayed in a streaming operation at any arbitrary value in a transaction carried out by content transmitting and receiving apparatus to purchase and sell or borrow and lend a band.